Cybersecurity firm Wiz, which last month rejected a $23bn (£18bn) takeover bid from Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is to open a European headquarters in London – a move that is a major shot in the arm for the UK’s aspiration to be a global tech hub.
The new office, the company’s first in Europe, will be run by co-founder and research and development head, Roy Reznik, who is relocating from Israel to the UK capital to underscore the company’s business ambitions in the region.
Wiz is likely to embark on a hiring spree, aiming to increase its UK employee base by 100 by the end of this year, and generate 35% of total revenues from Europe, the Middle East and Africa by the end of next year.
Wiz already has several dozen UK-based employees, but they are focused on sales and marketing and are not based in an office. The recruitment plans include building its engineering, research and development capabilities.
Wiz offers a service that scans the data on cloud storage providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure for security risks.
It works with companies including Asos, the Bank of England and Revolut in the UK, and Shell, BMW and luxury goods conglomerate LVMH in Europe.
“The UK is a region with many leading global brands and top tech talent, which is why we see it as key to the growth and expansion of Wiz,” Reznik told the Guardian.
“Organisations in this market are embracing the cloud and capitalising on the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI). At the same time, with only 10% of data having migrated to the cloud so far, we see near limitless growth potential,” he added.
The company made annual revenues of $350m last year and is understood to be running at a rate of $500m for this year. Wiz’s target is to hit $1bn in annual revenues and then consider its strategic options.
Alphabet had been in talks to acquire Wiz in an effort to catch up with rivals Microsoft and Amazon in the hyper-competitive cloud services market.
Last month, Wiz bosses admitted it was “tough” turning down such lucrative offers but said the goal remains growth and an eventual initial public offering. However, the New York-based startup said it is planning for a US listing, and not a London one.
There had been scepticism that the deal with Alphabet would pass regulatory scrutiny, as regulators seek to toughen their stance against big tech dealmaking.
In June, the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission struck a deal on investigations into the main protagonists in the AI market, including Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia.
In December last year, Adobe abandoned its $20bn (£16bn) takeover of its smaller rival Figma, after European and UK regulators raised concerns it would eliminate competition in the product design software market.
In May, Wiz announced that it raised $1bn at a $12bn valuation, in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Thrive Capital.
The company has secured $1.9bn in total funding since being founded in 2020.
